Sterilizing-cabinet.



0. A. DEAN.

STERILIZING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 1911.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

UNITE STATS PATENT ()FFICE.

CHARLES A. DEAN, OF TAMA, IOWA.

STERILIZING-CABIN ET.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. DEAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tania, in the county of Tama and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sterilizing-Cabinets, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention is an improved sterilizing cabinet especially adapted forsterilizing books, bank notes, papers or other articles by the fumes offormaldehyde, the object of the invention being to provide an improveddevice of this character which is extremely cheap and simple, isentirely efiicient, and may be readily operated by inexperiencedpersons.

The invention consists in the construction. combination and arrangementof devices, hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is partly a front elevation andpartly a vertical sectional view of the sterilizing cabinet constructedin accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the samepartly in section. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective sectional view of thedraft pipe. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on the plane indicated bythe line aa of Fig. 3.

The cabinet or casing 1, may be of any suitable size and shape, and maybe made of any suitable material. A convenient size for ordinarypurposes is five feet by five feet, by two feet, so as to provide acubic content of fifty square feet for convenience in estimating thequantity of sterilizing material to be employed.

The cabinet is here shown as provided in its front side with hingeddoors 2. Shelves 3 are arranged in the cabinet at suitable distancesapart, one above another, and extend from end to end of the cabinet.Each of these shelves comprises a plurality of revoluble bars 4. Thesaid bars are preferably corrugated or polygonal in cross section, andare provided at their ends with cylindrical spindles 5 which have theirbearings in openings in which the end walls of the cabinet are provided.Each of the said shelf bars is provided at one end with a sprocket wheel6. On one end wall of the cabinet at a point between two of the shelvesis an operating sprocket wheel 7, which is mounted on a suitable stubshaft 8 and is provided with a crank handle 9 whereby it Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed January 21, 1911.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

Serial No. 603,917.

may be readily turned. Endless sprocket chains 10 engage opposite sidesof the said sprocket wheel, and each of the said chains also engages thesprocket wheels 6 of one series of shelf bars so that when the saidsprocket wheel 7 is turned, the said sprocket chains and the saidsprocket wheels of the said shelf bars cause the shelf bars of two ofthe shelves to be rotated, and hence articles which are placed on thesaid shelf bars will be moved thereon, and all portions of the surfacesof said articles will be exposed to the action of the disinfecting agentin the cabinet.

The cabinet is provided at one side at an elevated point with an escapeopening 11 which in practice may be connected with an air shaft or maybe disposed opposite the upper sash of a window or any opening whichleads to the outer air. In the escape opening is a diaphragm 12 whichhas an opening 13, and is also provided with a shutter 14 having anopening 15 which may be moved into or out ofcoincidence with the openingof the said diaphragm so that the said shutter may be employed to closeor open the escape opening. At one end of the cabinet, near the lowerend thereof, is a feed and air inlet pipe 16. This comprises an outermember 17 which projects outwardly from the cabinet, and is providedwith a series of openings 18 and an inner member 19, which is seated inthe outer member and has a head 20. The member 17 may be turned on themember 19 and has a handle 21, and the member 19 is provided at itsinner end with a hook 22 to support a vessel 23 and also has a tube 2 1,the inner end of which discharges into the vessel, and the outer end ofwhich extends to one side of the member 19, and may be brought into orout of coincidence with one of the openings 18 by appropriately turningthe member 17. hen the formalin has been introduced to the vessel 23through the tube 24, the outer member 17 is then turned sufficiently tocause the openings 18 to get out of aline on the shelf bars and asuitable quantity of permanganate of potassium, or potassium crystals isplaced in the vessel under the spout of the draft pipe. The doors arethen closed, and the shutter or valve of the escape opening is closed. Asuitable quantity of a solution of formaldehyde is then poured throughthe spout into the vessel containing the potassium permanganatecrystals, thereby causing the formaldehyde gas to be generated, whichfills the cabinet and effectually disinfects and sterilizes the articlestherein. From time to time the shelf bars are turned by the meanshereinbefore described, so as to cause the articles to be moved on theshelf bars, and hence cause all portions of the surface of the saidarticles to be exposed to the action of the gas. The cabinet should bekept closed and the articles therein exposed to the action of thedisinfectant, for a period of from three to eight hours, at theexpiration of which time, the escape opening and draft opening should beopened, so as to permit the escape of the fumes from the cabinet. Inabout fifteen or twenty minutes thereafter, one of the cabinet doors maybe opened. If the fumes of the formaldehyde remain in the cabinet, alittle ammonia water should be sprinkled on the floor of the cabinet toneutralize the formaldehyde, and the articles can be then removed fromthe cabinet.

I claim A sterilizing cabinet having a valved escape opening at itsupper side and provided at its lower side with a feed and air inlet pipeembodying a fixed inner member, closed at its outer end, open at itsinner end and provided with radial openings and a revoluble outer memberon the inner member and provided with radial openings movable acrossthose of the inner member, the said. inner member being provided at itsinner end with a supporting element for a receiving vessel and beingalso provided with a feed tube to discharge into the said receivingvessel.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

CHARLES A. DEAN.

Witnesses I. T. /VILLIAMSON,

B. L. CLUTIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

